a polarizing topic, streets - are they for vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians, all of them? Or just cars as was the intended use (let pedestrians use sidewalks, cabs, ubers, subways, etc!) but activists and protesters only fall on the side of "streets for anything but cars" lunacy. This documentary dives into the activists point of view of course, no one makes documentaries about things being used as intended

It opens in Los Angeles at Laemmle’s Royal, Glendale, Monica, and Town Center theaters, and Ben Wolf will be there for post-screening Q&As on April 16, April 18, and April 20.

after a beloved teacher is killed in a hit-and-run, then follows neighbors organizing to remake a dangerous four-lane boulevard into a safer two-lane street with protected bike lanes

the film connects a single street fight to bigger questions about who gets to decide on what streets are used for, and how activists can influence change and make commutes worse for the vast majority of the street users who drive, to benefit the tiny minority who bike. 

Because, democracy? Is a society being run by the choices of the majority. 

However, facts and rational explanations about how inherent dangers, and acceptable risks, intrinsically state that there WILL be a mortality rate for those who aren't following the herd. There's a reason herds, flocks, and schools of prey travel in groups.... death is the frequent ankle biter of the ones that can't keep up. If you get in the way of the running bulls, or vehicles, you will be trampled, and run over. Because that's how that works. If you stay away from roads and vehicles, your chances are far better that you'll see old age. Just like sharks, just stay out of the water, and you won't get bit. Simple. 

The 2021 hit-and-run death of Brooklyn schoolteacher Matthew Jensen on McGuinness Boulevard sparked a grassroots movement for safer streets. (Streets are incredibly safe if pedestrians stay off them, of course)

 Local activists launched Make McGuinness Safe, pushing the New York to redesign the street with protected bike lanes, wider medians, and fewer car lanes.

The effort to screw up the decades old traffic pattern has opposition from businesses that have always relied on water to be wet, the sun to shine, and the streets to have parking for customers, deliveries, and pickups. 

Featuring former NYC Transportation Commissioner, the film shows the efforts of grassroots activism, and the uphill battle to get streets rezoned for pedestrians, made into sidewalks, and generally taking them away from vehicular traffic

Upcoming Screenings:

April 16-20 — Laemmle theaters at 3 Los Angeles area locations
April 23 -- Brooklyn Manhattan Community College in NYC
May 21 - Cleveland Cinematheque
May 30 — Wisconsin Bike Federation in Milwaukee
June 4 -- Greenpoint Public Library, Brooklyn
June 11 -- Van Alen Institute & the AIA, in Gowanus, Brooklyn

https://firstrunfeatures.activehosted.com/index.php